Ebola: Food Scarcity Leading to People Breaking Quarantines in Sierra Leone

A student looks at a poster on Ebola prevention in a school at Gueupleu, Man, western Ivory Coast November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

People are being forced to break quarantines in many parts of Sierra Leone due to lack of food, raising risks of further spread of Ebola in the region.

Services meant to deliver food are not reaching the people, according to aid agencies.

The government and UN's World Food Programme have been handling the delivery of essentials to quarantined regions. But they have been unable to reach some corners of the country, the Christian Aid's Sierra Leone representative told NBC News.

The quarantine of Kenema, the third largest town in Sierra Leone, is hampering free movement of trucks delivering food, said Disasters Emergency Committee, which has been critical in its stance on quarantines.

Jay Wenger, head of polio efforts at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation told NPR that Nigeria which has been the source of polio cases throughout Africa, has been polio-free since July.

In fact, Nigeria synchronised a polio campaign this September and reached 94 million children. The booster round is round the corner. Sadly, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone did not take part in the first round and aren't taking part in the second round either. An epidemic of polio could easily spark off in these regions, warn experts.